Continued support is requested for graduate training in Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry for a talented cohort of predoctoral students in the Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (MCB) at Brown University. The MCB Graduate Program is an interdepartmental interdisciplinary program, which admits 8-12 students per year based on both their research and academic achievements. During the second or third year of graduate study, trainees will be selected from the ~20 eligible MCB graduate students for appointment to the training grant on the basis of their potential for success in research. Each year, 4 or 5 trainees will be appointed for a period of two years; funds to support 9 trainees per year are requested. Faculty trainers in the MCB Graduate Program are accomplished scientists who are drawn from 12 Departments at Brown University and the Warren Alpert Medical School, as well as from the Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole. The mission of the MCB Graduate Program is to train the next generation of scientists to probe the molecular mechanisms of cellular and developmental processes. While the ultimate goal of advanced study in experimental biology is specialization, the MCB Graduate Program balances this focus with broad multidisciplinary training, equipping our students to pursue issues central to basic biology and human health without approach-imposed limitations. This comprehensive perspective sets the multidepartmental MCB Graduate Program apart from the eight other discipline-specific training programs at Brown, providing a unique opportunity for students to erase the boundaries between fields.